Notes / Commercial Description:
A beer cloaked in secrecy. An ale whose mysterious and unusual palate will swirl across your tongue and ask more questions than it answers. A sort of dry, crisp, refreshing, not-quite pale ale. #9 is really impossible to describe because there's never been anything else quite like it.

Reviews by CaNdI-_-gIrL:

More User Reviews:

On tap at Stone Pub. Pours a mellow amber-orange color with highlights of burnt sunburst around the edges; slight haze but not enough to completely cloud your eyesight to the other side. Fizzy, bone-white head goes almost as quickly as it comes. The aroma is fruity, light, and crisp; apricots, oranges, peaches - sounds great, right? Unfortunately the smell comes off a little too contrived, artificial, and errs on the side of medicinal. Not enough to abhor the beer already, but it doesn't bode well for how it's probably going to taste. Hits the palate with a thin-almost medium body, crisp, snappy, and fizzy. Takes over with the fruity sensation right away - apricots still in the forefront, with some peaches, tangerines, and pears on deck. The strange, vitamin-like medicinal character is actually less apparent on the palate then it was in the aroma, which is a good thing, but I still have to smell this sucker every time I bring the glass to my mouth. A bit of grain and pale malt flavors along with a flower-like hop character which is unfortunately mostly shoved aside by the fruitiness. Low bitterness start to finish, highly carbonation with an aftertaste of artificial fruits and a touch of yeast.

I commend this beer for being almost somewhat of a "gateway" brew that brings people from macro style lagers to the wonderful world of craft beer. It's lighter, not abrasive, easy on the palate; so it's easy to see why newcomers will enjoy it. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold a candle to the rest of the craft world, and once you expand your tastes, this one is easily forgotten, and in many cases, eventually frowned upon for having a weird, medicinal astringency.

Pours a clear amber with a bubbly white head.
The aroma is a combination of floral and spice and a bit of fruit candy.
Taste is similar. A bit flowery and maybe a hint of corriander and a bit of earthiness. As it warms, I pick up a bit of a vegetal flavor. Very little bitter.
Mouthfeel is on the thin side and well-carbonated.
Overall, weird but not unpleasant and somewhat refreshing.

This beer is a bit of an acquired taste and in my experience needs to be one of the first things you drink or with a clear palate. The distinct flavor a such as apricot and coriander can be harshly influenced by other beers before it. That said I like this beer a lot. Love the dark color and very floral scent. Easy to drink multiples.

Look: Golden with average head that quickly dissipates
Smell: Apricot scent
Taste: Mild Hop Flavor..not bitter at all
Feel: Light and smooth

Average beer, no surprises. Balanced, doesn't crash the palate.. Likely enjoyed most by consumers who enjoy a mildly Apricot scented ale. Definitely suitable for the IPA fan and not for the higher calorie beer enthusiast on the lookout for a bold flavor.
If you are a Quad fan..or even a Hefeweizen fan, then this beer may just be a palate cleanser. If you like pale ales, then go for it as I see no reason for this beer to disappoint the category it represents.

I first had it at the brewery. They make a few perfectly good, delightful, unpretentious beers.

Since that first trial, this beer has been heavily marketed (at least in my market), showing up all over the place. "Maybe I missed something at the brewery, where I sampled a number of beers," I thought, otherwise, why would this beer be everywhere. I had just delighted in an Aprihop, which in description might seem similar. So I ordered a draft of it.

Wow -- worse than I thought. My girlfriends reactions are often more jarring and unaccepting than mine -- she took one sniff, recoiled in disgust and said "ugh it smells just like cat pee." She was right, sort of -- I debated if perhaps the pee in question was more likely from a coyote. Certainly nothing of hops in the aroma.

Took a sip. Wow worse than I remembered. Synthetic fruity flavor (even if it is natural) -- like an apricot jolly rancher in your mouth while you drink a beer you don't like.

Left it 90% un-consumed -- unheard of in my cardholding clean-plate-club world.

Perhaps most distressing is that this seems to be the worst beer this brewer makes. I sincerely believe that some brewers should not be allowed out of their state. There is no reason a beer like this must travel near 1000 miles. Certainly they have drains to pour it down in Vermont?

#9 is always the first and last beer that I order as soon as I enter a bar or pub. The taste and aroma is leagues above any one else. And there is no hang-over feeling if I have had one too many. And usually I always have a morning head ache after a night of drinking draft beer. So I definitely appreciate Magic Hat for allowing the moment of clarity to get out of a one night situation! Slainte everyone!

Just a strange feeling and taste to this beer, to me it taste like grape cotton candy. Sweet and fruity but in a sugary way which I'm not use to in a beer. I don't hate it, nor do I love it but I will order it again until I figure out what taste is hidden in this beer. No head upon pour ... just confusing

Apricot beer doesn't at first seem like a genius idea, but let me tell you it most certainly is.
The fruitiness draws you in, and the little ditties they write under the cap keep you from drinking all of it at 3 in the afternoon on a Monday, you know, just cuz.

Light, bright orangish amber beneath a fluffyfirm head of yellowed bone white. The cap is more stubborn than it looks like it'll be immediately after the pour and leaves meandering chunks of soap sudsy foam as it slowly deflates.

The beer smells a little soapy too, like apricot-scented hand cream. Okay, it isn't quite that bad. Let's call it floral and apricot fruity, that's more of a beer-related description. The nose is interesting without being all that appealing.

This isn't my kind of beer. Like the nose, it's still floral and semi-soapy on the palate. Part of the problem is that #9 is, as the brewery describes it, a 'not quite pale ale'. Translation: the hop content is 'not quite' what it should be in order to end up with good beer.

It tastes insipid to me; there's isn't enough malt and there aren't enough hops. What's left? Answer: fresh apricots sprinkled with shavings of Irish Spring. That may (repeat, may) be overstating the case to some degree since the beer is still somewhat drinkable. The body and the mouthfeel are no help at all. Thin and wimpily carbonated just doesn't cut it.

I'm confident that the other bottles from this brewery that currently reside in my basement will be more to my liking (thanks far333). As far as #9 goes, my feeling is that Magic Hat should plunge their (collective) hand back into their magic hat and pull out a rabbit with balls next time.

I had this many times while living in Vermont and had a bottle yesterday for the first time in a few years.Poured a slight hazed light amber color with a tight 1/2 finger white head that stuck around for a minute leaving no lace behind as it settled,quite effervescent on the nose with big apricot and honey notes,with a noticable toasted grain elemant in there as well.Its a good cook out and or bbq beer lighter easy going down and chicks dig it,anyways the fruity flavors of apricot and or peach are not as big as in the nose but really show thru in the finish as well a little toastiness with just a lighter herbal hop note as a slight balancer.Hey it is what is a easy quaffing cult beer I would take it over any macro or other fruit beers out there for sure.

A: Deep gold with an orange tint and excellent clarity. The creamy light tan head head is composed of compact bubbles.

S: A moderate aroma of stone fruit mostly apricot with some peach dominate the aroma. the malt is subtle adding a slight toastiness and sweetness. There isn't any hops aroma. The malt increases as it warms.

T: A moderate bitterness and apricot flavor dominate the flavor. There is a good amount of support from a soft malt sweetness giving about an even balance. The off-dry finish leaves a slightly grain malt sweetness and apricot flavor and a light lingering bitterness.

M: The body was a little thick at a medium-heavy body with moderate carbonation. The is no creaminess and no warmth but there is a slight astringency.

O: This is a restrained fruit beer with the apricots still taking center stage but not overwhelming the underling beer. The problem is I'm not that wild about the underling beer. The apricots might be suited better on a slightly sweeter base style beer.

A - Poured into pint glass. Vigorous pour yielded maybe half a finger's worth of white foam, which dissipated fairly quickly. No lacing at all. Poured more orange than gold to the light, and quite hazy.

S - Getting a nutty aroma, like a fruit salad with nuts. The malt keeps a low profile to the nose but does become more apparent when swirled in the glass.

T - Taste doesn't quite go with the aroma, a rich fruity yet malty taste with an unusual twist of a finish, possibly grape or plum. Very light hops in the finish, hop heads would be best served with another ale.

M - Feels pretty light all in all, certainly inoffensive. Alcohol taste is nonexistent. Aftertaste gives you a fruity feeling on the tip of your tongue, like you just ate a banana, and the hops do build up towards the back of the tongue as you keep drinking.

D/O - I don't think it really merits some of the pannings I've seen it get on here. While it's fruity enough to not be an all-around favorite I'd have to say it's a quite inoffensive, and very drinkable approach to an apricot-themed beer. Could see myself scouting it out again in the summer when I think the flavors would really shine. Do yourself a favor if you've got it in a fridge, give it a few minutes out to warm up a bit and you'll appreciate the flavors quite a bit more. It really got a lot more pleasant as it warmed up.